Yuki
by Doctor Emmit Brown
Summary: Ranma and Akane find an abandonned baby in a dumpster. What do you mean the orphanage can't take her? A story of discovery, romance, and a bt of humor on the side.
1. Luck

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma.  The only character I've invented is Yuki.  Please don't sue!

AN:  I promised myself I wouldn't do this until HbaM was finished, but I'm starting another story.  Please check out my bio page for my reasoning (it's too long to worry about here).  I know that this idea has been done before multiple times on FF.net (specifically _For the Love of a Child _by DemonSaya and _Child Care _by Jingoro [which I highly recommend and wish he would finish]), but I feel I can write a story that is different enough from these stories.  So on with the show!

*********

Chapter One: - Luck

"Hurry up Ranma!  We're going to miss the train at the rate you're going!"

Ranma tried to keep up, but he was burdened with a tall stack of packages.  The pair was in downtown Tokyo in the Ginza shopping district.  Akane had recently won a martial arts tournament that came with a rather large cash prize, and after putting most of it away in her savings account, she decided to go on a shopping spree.  She had wanted to go alone, but their fathers had forced Ranma to go with her "for her protection," as they put it.

_Humph, I win that tournament and they still have the gall to say I can't defend myself, _Akane thought to herself.  She then looked back at Ranma, seeing all the packages he was carrying.  _Then again, it's useful to have a pack mule…_

Ranma scowled at his fiancée.  "Well, if you hadn't bought so much stuff, I'd be able to keep up!"  It wasn't the weight of the packages that was slowing Ranma, but the fact that there was so many that the stack blocked his vision.  He had to rely on his hearing to avoid bumping into anyone or anything, so he took it slow, praying that he didn't accidentally walk into a light post.

Akane sighed and continued to walk towards the train station.  "I didn't buy all that much Ranma," she called out over her shoulder.  "Some of the packages are just really big."

"Yeah, they'd have to be to fit over your big hips!"

Akane's temper flared, but she suppressed the urge to beat Ranma over the head.  She didn't want him to drop any of the packages after all.  Instead she just sighed internally at his attitude.  _It's been two years since we met, and a year since that botched wedding.  Why does he still insist on insulting me?_

Akane thought back on the last year.  Since the wedding, things had been going better for the two of them.  Their fathers had agreed that a wedding couldn't take place until they had sorted out their suitor problems, and had backed off a bit.  Instead of trying to force the marriage, they just tried to force them to date.  The fact that there was a little less pressure on the two to get together had allowed them to grow a little closer, and even to follow their fathers' suggestions to go on a few dates.  Unfortunately, it seemed as if every time the left the house together someone would show up to get between them.  They hadn't had one successful date.  Akane was surprised that nobody had shown up yet to interfere while she shopped.

Yet they still fought.  Ranma would still insult Akane, and Akane would still hit him for it with various blunt instruments.  By now though, the pair _had_ matured enough to ease up a bit on the constant fighting.  Akane had taken a cooking course the previous year in school, and finally acknowledged that her cooking was potentially fatal after her teacher had to get her stomach pumped upon trying one of Akane's dishes – though she _was_ getting better.  Ranma had finally acknowledged her skill as a martial artist after she had won a few big tournaments, and had begun to take her more seriously –he still refused to hit her while sparring though, and resorted to just tapping her instead.  Akane had also realised that many of the fights weren't Ranma's fault as she had once thought, and that she started about as many of them as he did.  Yet there was a part of her that wished they would just stop fighting altogether.  If only there was some way to end the vicious cycle…

Ranma's voice broke her thoughts.  "Hey Akane, do you hear that?"

Akane stopped and listened.  Of course, seeing as they were in downtown Tokyo, there were many sounds to be heard, and she didn't know what he was talking about.  "Hear what Ranma?"

"I think I hear a baby crying."

"That's possible Ranma. After all, we're the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world," she replied sarcastically.

Ranma was concentrating too much on listening that he missed the sarcasm in the reply.  "No, I mean I think it's coming from that alley up ahead.  I think we should check it out."

Akane stared at him for a moment.  First of all, with all the packages in front of his eyes, he shouldn't have been able to see the alley in front of them.  Second, he was saying that he picked out a sound from all the rest of them in one of the busiest places on Earth.  When Ranma passed her on his way to the alley, she followed, slightly curious to see if his hearing was as good as it seemed.

They entered the alley, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.  There was a large dumpster that was being used by the adjacent restaurant, but nothing more.  Akane strained her ears, but didn't hear a baby crying.  She did, however, hear an air conditioning unit turn on above their heads, and watched as it dripped cold water on Ranma's head.

Ranma cursed silently to himself as he felt the change.  He had grown to not abhor the curse as he once had in the last year, but it was still aggravating to change when he didn't want to.  After standing in the alley for about a minute and not hearing anything again, she turned to leave when she heard the cry again.  This time, Akane heard it too.  It wasn't coming from any of the windows that faced the alley, nor were there any other people around.  The only place it could come from was in the dumpster.

"Akane, take the packages.  I'm going to jump in and see what I can find."  Ranma hopped up onto the lip of the dumpster, prayed silently that the sound wasn't a cat, and slid in gently.  She had just thrown a trash bag out of the way, when she saw a blanket wrapped around something.  She picked it up, and opened the blanket to come face to face with a baby.  Ranma stared at the newborn, shocked that anyone would leave a baby in a dumpster like that.  The baby couldn't have been more than a year old.  Its hair was sparse on its head, and was a dark red.  It's eyes were dark brown, almost to the point of being black.  Its skin was pure white, almost as if it was painted that colour.  The baby looked back at Ranma with wide eyes, and then smiled and made small cooing noises.  Ranma blinked a few times before calling out to Akane.  "It looks like we have one more parcel Akane…"

*********

Ranma and Akane walked up to the dojo gate, each carrying something.  Ranma had reverted to his male form at a tea shop on the way home, and was carrying the packages – better stacked this time so he could see where he was going – while Akane carried the baby.  They had taken it to the nearest police station to see if it was a missing child, but nobody had reported anything recently.  They had left their phone number with the police in case anything came up.  Ranma had wanted to leave the baby with the police in case the parents came by looking for it, but they couldn't take it.  The officer behind the desk didn't seem to think that anyone would come looking for it, considering they found it in the dumpster.  "If you found it in a dumpster, chances are it was an unwanted pregnancy, and the mother was trying to get rid of it," he had said.

So there they were, standing in front of the gate, hesitating to go in for fear of all the questions they knew everyone would ask.  They had already gotten many looks while on the train, and one older lady actually asked if it was their child.  They both blushed heavily at _that_ comment.  The worst was when they stopped at a drugstore on their way home to get some diapers and formula.  The store clerk was the father of one of the guys in their class, and knew Ranma.  The two teens dreaded returning to school at the end of the summer break in a week, knowing that should the clerk tell his son about seeing Ranma buying diapers, the rumours would be running wild.

Finally, Akane worked up some courage, and opened the gate.  She nervously entered the house with Ranma following behind.  She was slightly surprised to see that nobody had come to greet them yet, but was glad for it all the same.  It was then that the baby decided that it needed to be changed, and started to cry.

_Oh no, not now!  _Akane tried to shush the baby before it drew unwanted attention, but it was too late.  Kasumi and Nabiki had been in the living room. They had heard the noise and had come to investigate.  When they saw the baby, they gasped in surprise.  Nabiki smirked at her sister.  "Why Akane, is _that_ why you went into town today?  I didn't even know you were pregnant.  You certainly didn't show it."

Akane knew her sister was only teasing her.  After all, if Ranma and Akane had had sex, Nabiki would have known about it.  She still blushed heavily though, the redness of her face putting most tomatoes to shame.  Ranma, missing the innuendo, managed to calmly explain what happened.

"Actually Nabiki, we found the kid abandoned in a dumpster.  We brought it home cuz the police told us they couldn't take it."

Nabiki's normally calm demeanour broke slightly at the mention that the baby was abandoned.  She looked almost appalled that someone would do such a thing.  She quickly regained her composer though.  Kasumi, however, looked outraged that someone could abandon their child.  Her face calmed, however, when she noticed how carefully Akane held the baby.  She smiled at her sister.  "So what are you going to do with it?" she asked.  "You aren't going to keep it are you?"

"No, we're only going to keep it until we can find a place for it to go," Akane replied.  "Ranma is going to see if he can find an orphanage in the phone book.  Hopefully they'll be able to take it."

Ranma went off to find the phone book, leaving the three sisters to talk about what had happened.  The baby grew tired of being ignored, and started to cry again.  Akane looked at the baby, worry creasing her face, but Kasumi came to the rescue.  "Perhaps it needs to be changed Akane," she suggested.

Akane looked even more worried.  "I've never changed a diaper before Kasumi.  I don't know how."

"Well then, isn't this a good opportunity to learn?  I used to baby-sit for the Yamanes, I can tell you what to do. "

Akane gulped audibly, and followed her sister upstairs to her room.  The baby was lain on Akane's bed, and the baby supplies strewn about, ready for use.  Kasumi started to walk her sister through the process.

Upon opening the diaper, Akane heaved a huge sigh of relief, for two reasons.  One, it was just a wet diaper, not a full one. Two, the baby was a girl.  Akane was still shy about the male anatomy, specifically that which lies between their legs.  Ever since she'd seen Ranma naked in the furo the day they met, there was just something about the thought of it that made her cringe.  Health class the other year was sheer torture when they got to the part on sexual education.  The fact that she wouldn't have to look at one every time this baby need to be change made it a little easier on her.

The rest of the changing went with few aggravations.  Akane had had a hard time opening the sticky tapes on the new diaper, and the baby had peed on Akane's bed while she didn't have a diaper on, but otherwise, she was clean, powdered, and oiled without hassle.

"That was very good Akane!  I'm so proud of my little sister," Kasumi praised.  "I'm sure you'll make a fine mother some day."

Akane could only blush in response to her sister's remark.

*********

Ranma hung up the phone, a look of amazement and slight fear plastered across his face.  Akane was _not_ going to like the news he's just received.  He slowly walked up the stairs to his fiancée's room, and looked through the open doorway.  It was there that he saw a sight that made his heart beat faster in his chest.

Akane was sitting on her bed – minus the quilt, which Kasumi had taken down to be washed – gently rocking the baby, humming to it as she fed it from a bottle.  The tune she was gentle, and somewhat familiar to Ranma. Akane's eyes were soft and loving, as she watched the baby nurse.  A smile played at the corners of her lips.  The baby watched Akane with wide eyes as she drank, her gaze never leaving Akane's face.  Ranma watched the two for a few minutes, amazed at the beautiful scene before him.  _Maybe she won't mind too much after all,_ he thought to himself.  He coughed gently so not to startle them.

Akane looked up at Ranma, and could have sworn she saw a loving look on his face.  It had been fleeting though, so she decided to forget about it.  "What did the orphanage say?" she asked, putting the bottle down, and burping the baby over her shoulder.  

Ranma nervously played with his pigtail.  His eyes scanned the room, trying to find something other than Akane's eyes to look at.  "They… uh… said they couldn't take the baby."

Akane almost dropped her charge. She wanted to yell, but didn't for fear of startling the baby.  After she calmed a bit, she looked directly at Ranma.  "What do you mean they can't take the baby?  That's what they're there for isn't it?"

"The lady I talked to said that the orphanage was under funded and overcrowded.  They wouldn't have been able to feed it."

Akane looked stricken.  "So what do we do?"

"Well, I left my name, and the phone number for the dojo, and they said that they'd call us as soon as they had an opening.  Until then…" Ranma tapered off, not quite wanting to finish the sentence.

"…We have to take care of it," Akane finished.  "What about other orphanages?  There has to be more than one!"  Akane was starting to panic.  Ranma placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

"There was only one orphanage listed in the Nerima phone book.  The lady I talked to didn't mention if there were any others."

"Ranma, we're only 18.  I only _just_ turned 18 last month!  We can't take care of a baby!"

The little girl in Akane's arms started to fuss at that point.  Akane returned her attention to the baby to calm her.  Ranma noticed a glass of water on Akane's nightstand, and used it to change.  She then sat next to Akane, and held her arms out.  "Can I hold her?"

Akane looked up at the now female Ranma.  "Why did you change?"

Ranma shrugged.  "Not exactly very manly to hold a baby is it?"

"What are you talking about?  A good father will hold their child."

Ranma just shrugged.  Akane sighed, and handed the baby over.  Ranma promptly took her in her arms, lay her upright against her chest, and put the baby's head against her cheek, while making small shushing sounds.  The little girl slowly calmed down as Ranma rocked her back and forth.  Eventually, she let out a yawn, put her head down on Ranma's shoulder, and fell asleep.  Akane watched in amazement.  _Maybe we can do this after all…_

Remembering the scene he saw when he came in, Ranma broke the silence.  "Akane, I think we should be able to take care of it.  At least until the local orphanage is able to take it."

Akane was speechless at Ranma's comment.  She seemed so certain that they would be able to care for the baby, that most of Akane's fears were laid to rest.  She smiled.  "Ok.  If you think we can, then lets try it."

"So what do we call it?" Ranma asked.

"Her," Akane corrected.  "I had to change her diaper earlier, and it's a girl."

"Alright then, what do we call her?"

Akane thought for a moment.  She looked at the baby for inspiration.  One thing she noticed above all else was the whiteness of her skin.  Akane was almost jealous of the pale colour.  "Yuki," she replied.

"Yuki, eh?  Yeah, she was pretty lucky for us to find her like that."

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines that her skin is as white as snow, but I like your idea better."

"Alright then."  Ranma turned her head towards the sleeping girl.  "Welcome to the family, Yuki."

*********

Alrighty then, there's chapter one!  I was looking up baby names for inspiration online, and came across a site that said the name Yuki means both "luck" and "snow" in Japanese.  They probably have different kanji characters for each meaning, but Ranma and Akane are going to use the "luck" spelling if they ever have to write her name out.

Ranma and Akane are going to be a little out of character in this story.  There's no way around it.  They're 18 now, so they've matured from when they were 16 in the manga/anime.  I know I was certainly different when I was 18 than when I was 16.  I think I explained how things have been going well enough in the first part of the story.  So please for the love of all deities that may or may not be out there DON'T REVIEW SAYING THEY ARE OOC!!!

Thanks to Koala Kitty and Ghost in the Machine for pre-reading this chapter, especially to Koala for her input on how a baby would behave.  Go read their stuff!  It's good!

Thank you for reading.  I hope you enjoy this new story!


	2. A Day and Night in the Life

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi is not I, thus Ranma is not owned by me.  
  
Man, it's been forever and a day since I last updated this. I have excuses out the wazoo, but I'm sure you don't want to read them...

* * *

Chapter 2 – A Day (and Night) in the Life.  
  
A man and a panda staggered through the gate of the Tendo Dojo. Though both were experienced martial artists, neither seemed to be too sure on their feet. Drinking sake and beer most of the night will make even the most sure-footed person weak in the knees. The pair had gone out shortly after dinner to celebrate. Surely the fact that Ranma and Akane hadn't returned from their shopping trip meant that they were shacked up together in a love hotel somewhere, right?  
  
The odd pair reached the door. Soun tried to fit his key in the lock, but the darn lock kept moving out of the way! Luckily, Kasumi seemed to have heard him scratching the key on the door, and opened it to admit the two drunkards.  
  
Kasumi saw father and his friend's inebriated state and sighed. "Come Father, Mr. Saotome," she said. "Let's get you to bed." She proceeded to lead the two off to their rooms. They stopped at Soun's room first, and she lay her father down on his futon. She then turned to lead the panda off to his room, but the large animal had already passed out on the floor. Kasumi just sighed, and she left the room, shutting off the light and closing the door.

* * *

"Insert tab A into slot B, and slide the bar into place..."  
  
Akane read the instructions to the crib Ranma was trying to put together. Nabiki had found the old crib in the attic. It had once belonged to the three Tendo sisters at one point in time or another, and luckily it seemed to still be in good shape. It was even luckier that the assembly instructions were still in the box with all the parts. Normally, Ranma's male pride would have protested against using the instructions, but once he saw just how many parts there were, he decided that perhaps it would be best to let his ego take the hit, rather than have something go wrong, and have his head take a hit from Akane.  
  
"Slide the roller onto the track, and lock it into place with latch R..."  
  
They were putting the crib in Ranma's room. Akane's room wasn't big enough to put the crib in and still be able to get to the door, and Kasumi had already told them that Genma would be spending the night in Soun's room, so that meant that there would be plenty of room with Ranma.  
  
"Next, use the Allen key to bolt brackets Q onto the corners of the base..."  
  
Ranma hated this part. It seemed as if all the screws on the darn thing were rusted and stripped from repeated assembly. He desperately wished that the hardware store was still open so he could go and buy some new screws.  
  
Akane wasn't faring much better. The instructions were written in five different languages, and it seemed as if they were originally written for Americans, since the English instructions were on the top of the list. Plus, some idiot decided to place the Japanese and Chinese instructions next to each other. She kept starting to read the Chinese characters before she realised that she had already read those instructions to him[1]. The fact that Yuki, who had woken from her brief nap and was sitting in Akane's lap, seemed to find the instructions to be very interesting, and kept pawing at them didn't help either. Every time she had to move the page out of the baby's reach, she lost her place, and would frequently ask Ranma if he had done a step already. She had almost gone to get her Japanese-English dictionary so she could read the larger print at the top of the page, and not lose her spot all the time.  
  
When the crib was finally set up, Ranma moved to take Yuki from Akane and place her in the crib, but Akane pulled back. "Wait Ranma, how do we know that's safe?" she asked him.  
  
Ranma's ego took a serious blow at that comment. She was questioning his abilities! He bit back the harsh remark he had at the ready though, because to be honest, he wasn't quite sure it was safe either. After all, he had put it together, and it wasn't as if he'd ever done anything even remotely similar before. Still, he did have some pride "I'm sure it's okay Akane. All she has to do is sleep in it right?"  
  
Akane looked sceptical. "I don't know Ranma. If we're done, what are all those pieces doing on the floor?"  
  
There were quite a few pieces still strewn out around the crib. Ranma had no idea what they were for. "Maybe they're spare parts?" he guessed.  
  
Akane didn't buy it. "We should test it somehow. How much do you think Yuki weighs?"  
  
Ranma proceeded to take Yuki from Akane and hold her at arms length. He bounced her gently, testing the weight, and making the little girl squeal in delight. He gently gave her back to Akane. "8 kilograms," he said. From the tone of his voice, Akane could tell that it wasn't a guess.  
  
"Well, I have some 5 kilogram dumbbells in my room. If we test it at 10 kilos, and it doesn't break, then we'll know it's safe."  
  
Ranma couldn't argue with that logic. He took Yuki into his arms as Akane raced off to get her weights. Yuki whimpered slightly in Ranma's arms at the exchange, but Ranma soon settled her by holding her close, and making soft cooing noises. Akane returned shortly with her dumbbells. She put the weights in the crib, and stood back. Nothing happened.  
  
"Well, Ranma. I'm rather impressed. It seems you managed to put this thing together without fouling up." Akane turned to smirk at her fiancé.  
  
Ranma scowled at her. "Of course I did Akane. I'm a guy. I could have done this with my eyes closed." He took one step towards the crib, and the bottom fell out, bringing the mattress down with it. "Well... at least the sides are still up, this is a quick fix!" He took another step towards the crib, and the sides promptly fell away from each other. Ranma looked at Akane sheepishly. "It's because those old screws were all stripped and rusty! Honest!" Akane just sighed, and picked up the instructions.

* * *

Another hour later, and a quick trip to the neighbours to borrow some new screws, the crib was once again set up, and this time didn't fall apart when the weights were put in the bed. It even stayed together when Ranma jumped up and down on the floor next to it, or shook the bed.  
  
Ranma turned to Akane with a satisfied smile on his face. Akane just shook her head in amusement. She carried the sleeping babe over to the crib, and gently laid her in. Akane stood over the crib, and watched the little girl sleep. She couldn't describe what it was she was feeling, or why. Not four hours ago, she was panicking because they were gong to have to take care of the girl, and yet as she watched her sleep, Akane couldn't help but to feel warm and content inside. A smile crept across her face as she watched Yuki's steady breathing. She reached in the crib, and gently stroked her short red locks of hair.  
  
Ranma watched from the other side of the room. He saw the look on Akane's face, and it made him feel all gooey inside. 'She's so good with her,' he thought. 'She'll be a great mom to our kids some day... Wait...OUR kids? Where did that come from?'  
  
Ranma was puzzling over that line of thought when Akane turned to him. "Ranma," she said. "Are you going to be alright here alone with Yuki?"  
  
Ranma looked perplexed. "Uh... yeah Akane, why?"  
  
Akane fidgeted with her hands, as she looked all around the room trying to avoid his eyes. "Well...I just thought that if you wanted help taking care of Yuki tonight...I could..."  
  
Ranma smirked at his fiancée. "What, you don't think I can take care of her, Tomboy?"  
  
Akane bristled. 'That name again!' "No, Ranma. I'm just offering to help out tonight."  
  
Ranma shrugged. "I dunno. I should be all right. She's going to be sleeping anyway right."  
  
"Ummm..." Akane started. "I don't think..."  
  
"Look, all I have to do is make sure she doesn't fall out of the crib, right? I think I can take care of that myself."  
  
Akane scowled at Ranma. 'That damn ego of his,' she thought. "Fine then. If you think you can take care of her yourself, then I'll leave the two of you alone. She stalked out of the room, and nearly slammed the door before she remembered Yuki was sleeping, and instead settled for just shutting it firmly.  
  
Ranma stared at the door for a few moments. "What's eating her?"

* * *

Hours later, Ranma woke up to the sound of crying for the umpteenth time. That in of itself should be a testament to the sheer volume Yuki was able to reach. He looked over at the crib next to his futon, and groaned. She hadn't slept for more than two hours at a time the entire night, and it was driving him crazy. Every time she started to cry, either Nabiki came to shout at him, or Kasumi came in and tried to help calm Yuki. Akane never even left her room. Many diaper changes (done by Kasumi) and feedings (Ranma was able to handle those himself) later she still wouldn't sleep.  
  
Ranma sighed in defeat, swore revenge on whatever was causing Yuki to cry, and picked her up once again. She always seemed to calm down a bit whenever he held her. After checking her diaper (which was, thankfully, clean), Ranma took her over to the chair in the corner of the room. He then held her upright against his chest as he had done earlier in the evening, and softly cooed to her. Yuki began to calm down. He then reached over for the bottle they had left out, and tried to feed her, but she wouldn't take the bottle. Ranma just sighed, and tried to coax her into going to sleep again, but nothing seemed to be working. Finally, he laid down on his futon, and laid her on his chest. He then gently started to stroke her back. The touch seemed to have a calming effect on the babe, who finally gave a yawn, and nodded off. Ranma made to stand and return Yuki to her crib, but then realised he might be able to get some sleep too if he didn't move her. Soon, both were fast asleep.

* * *

Morning came too quickly for Ranma. Yuki had stayed asleep after he left her on his chest, but that was only three hours previous. Not only that, but Yuki had woken up earlier than he was used to, and was squirming around and whimpering trying to break free of the arm that was protectively wrapped around her. There was also a distinct odour wafting through the air that turned Ranma's stomach. He gently placed Yuki on the floor, and started sniffing around the room looking for the cause of the smell. He searched all over the room, but it seemed to be coming from the centre of the room, specifically where his futon was placed. Then he realised what was sitting on the futon, looking up at him with big curious eyes. "Yuck Yuki, you need a change." Yuki just smiled at him and giggled.  
  
Recalling that Kasumi had changed her all the previous times during the night, he picked up the baby, held her at arms length, and went off to search for the eldest Tendo daughter. He found her in the kitchen making breakfast. Kasumi didn't hear Ranma approach, but her nose wrinkled as he drew closer. She turned to see Ranma resembling a zombie from lack of sleep trying to pass off the baby to be changed. "Oh no you don't," she admonished. "I changed her for you all last night, it's time you learned how to take care of her as well. I made Akane do it too you know."  
  
Ranma scowled. "Remind me never to ask for any favours from you when you haven't gotten much sleep," he replied. Still, he took Yuki's changing blanket and laid it on the table in the kitchen to change her. Kasumi hovered nearby, ready to offer advice should it be needed, but continued to make breakfast. Yuki smiled up at Ranma, and kicked her feet playfully, adding to the difficulty of the task at hand. Finally, Ranma managed to undo the diaper, and open it up to reveal the mess inside. He turned green from the added smell. Kasumi had to fan herself with a towel to keep from fainting. Ranma quickly cleaned Yuki, and wrapped the entire mess in the diaper, opened the window over the sink, and hurled the diaper through it as hard as he could.  
  
"Ranma... you probably shouldn't have done that..." Kasumi remarked, with only a small hint of admonishment in her voice, as she was glad to be rid of the smell as much as he was.  
  
"I'm sure it will be alright," Ranma said. "I just feel a bit sorry for the poor sap that comes across it though.

* * *

Across town at the Kuno mansion, Tatewaki was out for a stroll in the garden. He turned to face the rising morning sun, and drew in a deep breath.  
  
It was then the white ballistic object hit him full on the face. It was the first recorded incident of biological warfare in Japan.

* * *

Noon found Ranma and Akane standing outside of Dr. Tofu's clinic, with Yuki in a stroller being pushed by her foster mother. Neither had spoken to the other all morning, and had only decided to take Yuki to see the doctor on a suggestion from Kasumi. The walk to the clinic was quiet, with Ranma taking up position on the fence rail in an effort to further ignore Akane. Akane, for her part, never even looked up at him. Ranma opened the door, and held it open for Akane to push Yuki through.  
  
Dr. Tofu met them in the waiting room. He smiled when he saw the pair, but his expression quickly turned to shock when he noticed the stroller. "I know it has been a while since we last saw each other Akane, but you really should have come to me while you were pregnant to make sure everything was alright," he remarked. "I suppose congratulations are in order..."  
  
Both Ranma and Akane blushed heavily. Each tried to deny the doctor's prognosis, but it all came out gibberish. Tofu kneeled down to look at his new patient.  
  
"Well hello there little girl! What's your name?" He made a silly face. Yuki reached out and took his glasses off his nose. "Whoa now! Aren't you a curious little thing?"  
  
Akane finally regained her composer. "No, Dr. Tofu, Yuki here isn't our baby... well... at least not in that way..."  
  
"We found her abandoned in a dumpster yesterday," Ranma chimed in. "Could you give her the once over to make sure she's okay?"  
  
Tofu looked up at the teens, and noticed that they were still blushing heavily. He laughed. "I'm sorry. I just would have guessed that you two would have tied the knot by now!" This comment caused a deeper hue of red to blaze across their faces. "Come on back and I'll give her a check-up."  
  
Akane reached in the stroller, picked Yuki up, and carried her into the examination room. Ranma walked in next to Tofu explaining how they found her, and how they ended up caring for her. Akane sat Yuki down on the table. Tofu noticed this and smiled. "Ah, so she can sit up already. That will make it easier to place her age." Both Ranma and Akane looked at the doctor in confusion, so he explained. "Most babies can sit up by 8 or 9 months old. She doesn't look very malnourished, so I'd venture to guess that you managed to find her relatively soon after she was left, and that means that I'll be able to further guess her age from her weight."  
  
Tofu weighed Yuki ("See? I told you she was 8 kilos"), listened to her heart, checked her ears, and poked around on her stomach.[2] He then asked Akane to hold her while he drew some blood for tests. Yuki gave a small gasp and started to cry when he poked her heel to draw the blood.[3] "I'll need to send these blood samples into the hospital for the testing, so if you could bring her back in a week from now, that would be great."  
  
As Akane dressed Yuki and comforted her, Tofu gave Ranma some instructions. "Yuki is healthy all things considering. You two have done a good job taking care of her so far, and I want you to continue to do everything you have been so far. My best guess is that she is about 8 months old, so you need to baby-proof the house since she'll start crawling soon. I also want you to help her develop her leg muscles by helping her stand and even walk every now and then." He noticed that Ranma was starting to grin as an idea was shaped in his head. "No katas yet though Ranma."  
  
Ranma frowned. 'How did he know? Am I that predictable?' "Ok Doc, we'll be sure to do all of that. See ya next week!"

* * *

The fathers were awake by the time the new family returned home. Neither had any idea about Yuki, as their drunken-induced sleep caused them to sleep through all of the crying the previous night, and Ranma and Akane had left before the two woke up. They took one look at the baby in the stroller and came to the conclusion that she was their granddaughter. Hangovers were quickly forgotten as the two beamed with pride and declared that the schools were finally united.  
  
"Akane, though I am happy with your union, don't you think you should have told us you were pregnant?" Soun asked. "A pregnant woman need special care while she carries the child to term. We could have helped you if you would have told. You certainly didn't show at all... Although, neither did you mother..."  
  
"Ranma my boy, you've made you're old man proud!" Genma chimed in. "I can't wait to see the look on your mothers face when she meets her grandchild. That will show her how manly you are!"  
  
Akane glared at them. "What the hell are you thinking? The schools aren't united! Ranma and I found this baby while out shopping yesterday! I didn't give birth to it, it was abandoned in the dumpster and we saved her!" All this added excitement caused Yuki to get upset, and she started to cry again. She was still a bit upset from being poked earlier, and all these people shouting certainly weren't helping her mood. Akane quickly picked her up out of the stroller and stormed off to Ranma's room to comfort her and put her down for a nap. Ranma turned to follow, but decided to have a word with the older men first.  
  
"Look, Akane and I have been getting along better lately than we had in the past, but that is mostly due to the fact that you two stopped trying to force us to get married. Starting that up again is not going to help matters at all. Just do me a favour and STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES!" He then turned, and followed Akane upstairs. The stunned fathers could only gawk as they watched their children leave. Where had they gone wrong to deserve such ungrateful offspring?

* * *

Yuki was in a bad mood, and not willing to come out of it. She had had a rather rough day between the doctor visit and the yelling, and the fact that her new mommy and daddy didn't seem to be in a good mood when around each other either. So she let the world know all about her strife, at 120 decibels.  
  
Akane was doing everything she could think of to calm the baby. She rocked her, changed her, offered her a bottle, and cooed softly while rubbing her back. Nothing seemed to work like it used to. So she tried something new, and started to sing a silly song she remembered hearing on the radio a few years back.[4]  
  
Yappappa- yappappa- ii shan ten   
hashagu koi wa ike no koi   
Yappappa- yappappa- ii shan ten   
mune no tai wa dakaretai  
  
Akane started to bounce and spin around in time with the song. Yuki's bawling seemed to take on a lesser volume, so Akane continued.  
  
wake mo wakarazu ni   
Ranma Ranma de hi ga kureru   
kimi to atte kara   
Ranma Ranma de   
nadakanda to   
suttamonda no seikimatsu  
  
Yuki's crying had all but stopped, and she seemed to be on the verge of laughing. Akane smiled brightly and continued to sing.  
  
naze motto shizuka ni   
"suki da yo" to ienai no?   
hariau to watashi mo   
jajauma ni nacchau!  
  
Akane took on a swaying dance during this stanza, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. It just seemed appropriate for some reason.  
  
beru mo narasazu ni   
soyokaze no you ni   
mune no wanru-mu   
sumitsuita kimi na no   
meiwaku yo dakedo  
...kon'ya dake ii wa  
(...ashita made ii wa)  
  
At this point Yuki was smiling and laughing as Akane swung her around. Akane made another pirouette and stopped facing the door. She blushed as she saw a grinning Ranma standing in it "You know, I never really liked that song much, it makes me out to be some kind of bad guy," he said. "But you were doing a good job singing it."  
  
Akane blushed even harder. "I'm sure they weren't referring to you in the song Ranma, just a play on words between 'Ranma' and 'jajauma'."[5]  
  
Ranma just smiled and shook his head. "Well, at least it seemed to work. We're going to have to remember that one. Come on, I'll take you and Yuki out for ice cream. My treat."  
  
Akane looked at him surprised at his offer, but free ice cream must never be questioned, so instead she just followed him out the door.  
  
Evening came, and Ranma and Akane were putting Yuki to bed. She had calmed down a lot after the song, and especially after the ice cream. Dinner was a silent affair with Ranma and Akane taking turns feeding Yuki what the jar claimed was carrots, and eating their own dinners. They were alone with their fathers, as Nabiki was spending the night at the apartment of one of her college friends ("...to get the last good nights sleep I'm going to get in a long while," she'd said), and Kasumi was out on what seemed to be a date with Tofu (the words "about time" were muttered by much of the family since the date was announced). Neither the fathers nor their children made eye contact with the other.  
  
Akane gently laid Yuki on her stomach, and started to rub her back, coaxing the little girl to sleep. Ranma looked over at her, and noticed the same look on her face that he had seen the night before; the same loving look in her eyes. He made his decision right then to swallow his pride.  
  
"Akane, I'm sorry for whatever I said or did last night that got you angry. If you want to spend the night in here, I'm sure Pop isn't going to be sleeping in here."  
  
Akane just stood there stunned. First the ice cream, and now an apology? She turned to face him with a quizzical look on her face. "Alright, who are you and what have you done to the real Ranma?"  
  
Ranma chuckled. "Nope, still the same old Ranma, maybe a little wiser though. Especially after last night..."  
  
"Oh, so that's it then. You just don't want to have to get up with her alone all night, so you ask me to help?"  
  
"Well..." Ranma started, but quickly changed his mind after the look she gave him. "Look, I noticed the way you look at her when you put her down to sleep. You had the same look in your eyes last night too. I just thought..." Akane put a finger to his lips, effectively silencing him.  
  
She smiled at him. "Thanks Ranma," she said. Then she left the room to change into her pyjamas. Ranma watched her leave, and just smiled.

* * *

2 A.M., and Yuki decided she was hungry. Akane made to get up, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "I'll get her honey," said Ranma. "You can get the next one."  
  
"Ok dear," she replied. In their sleep deprived states, neither realised what they had called each other.

* * *

[1] According to one of my pre-readers, Chinese and Japanese lettering is the same, just pronounced differently. If anybody knows different, don't hesitate to correct me.  
  
[2] Doctors always do this. I assume it's to make sure everything on the inside is all hunky dory, but I'm not sure.  
  
[3] I think I heard that this is how you draw blood from a baby from a magazine. If I'm wrong, again, please correct me.  
  
[4] Before anyone rants and raves, I will admit that I'm about to pull one of the biggest Ranma fanfic clichés there are, Akane is going to sing "Jajauma ni Sasenaide," better known as "Don't Make Me Wild Like You," the first opening theme to the anime. In my defense, this is a real song in the Ranma universe (there is an episode in season 6 where Akane's friends sing it karaoke style.), and it is rather humorous if you know what the lyrics mean. Visit animelyrics.com for the lyrics in romanji and in English.  
  
[5] "Jajauma" and "Ranma" both mean "Wild or unruly horse," and in fact are spelled with the same kanji.  
  
Finally! This chapter is DONE! I've been working on it since APRIL! Forget waiting on prereaders, I'm posting this NOW. Thanks to Koala Kitty for her input on babies once again. I hope what I got is accurate! Read her stuff! It's good!  
  
Next chapter will feature the NWC and their reactions to Yuki! Expect hilarity! 


	3. Sleep Deprivation

Takahashi Rumiko has been drawing manga since before I was born. Heck, Ranma began in 1988, and I was only 4 at the time. So obviously I don't own Ranma. Yuki is mine though. Isn't she cute? {gets out wallet to show pics}

* * *

Chapter 3 – Sleep Deprivation

Morning couldn't seem to come fast enough for the surrogate parents. Yuki only allowed them a little more than 4 hours of sleep over the course of the night, and it certainly wasn't all at once. The two martial artists were now both sitting in chairs, jealously watching the babe sleep, as both had been unable to fall asleep after the last feeding.

Ranma looked over at his fiancée and laughed quietly, "With the dark circles under your eyes, you kinda look like Gosunkugi," he declared.

Akane shot him a glare. "You don't look that great yourself you know. You could almost pass for his long lost brother."

Ranma just chuckled. "That's entirely possible, but I was thinking about all those times he tried to trick me by dressing like you. It's kinda funny to see the tables turned for once." The water in the pond he landed in courtesy of an impressive judo throw from Akane muffled Ranma's laughter.

* * *

Ranma re-entered the house after his brief bath with the koi and saw Akane with Yuki in the dining area getting ready to give the baby her bottle. Yuki looked over at the sound of Ranma-chan's footsteps and giggled at her. Ranma smiled back and made a face at her, then he remembered something Kasumi had told him about the baby's bottles.

"Akane, you've never heated up one of Yuki's bottles before. Did you remember to check it on your wrist?"

Akane looked at him puzzled. "Check it on my wrist? What for?" She placed the bottle lengthwise on her wrist

Ranma shook his head, "Not like that, squirt some of the milk onto your wrist."

Still puzzled, Akane did as she was told, and immediately put Yuki on the floor, jumped up, and ran into the kitchen to pour cold water on her burn. Ranma tried her best to suppress her laughter as she poured the hot water on the stove that was used to heat the bottle over her head. Akane heard what little nose he did make though, and she shot him her best death glare. Ranma quickly shut up, but kept on smiling as he explained. "I did the exact same thing the first time I heated up the bottle too. Kasumi managed to warn me in time. Though I don't remember her stifling her laughter as well as I did... " Akane just scowled at him.

Ranma returned to the dining room to see Yuki crawling around and trying to pick up stuff left in reach. He hurriedly grabbed Yuki before she could do any damage to herself, or to anything else. To slake her curiosity, he carried her into the kitchen and gave her her teething ring from the freezer. He then set her in her high chair (another old relic found in the Tendo attic, thankfully fully assembled). He then looked over to Akane who was still trying to cool her burns at the sink. Ranma sighed and walked up behind her. "Here, let me take a look at it." He turned Akane away from the sink and looked at her wrist. Akane realised that the gesture was little more than concern that she may have seriously burned herself, but she couldn't help but blush at the act. Ranma finished inspecting the burn, and looked up at her and smiled. "No problem. It's about as bad as a sunburn. You'll be okay in a day or so."

It was Yuki who broke up this sappy moment, calling out to her new parents for attention, and for her bottle. Ranma quickly turned from Akane to give it to her, while Akane started to prepare a breakfast that was a little more solid.

* * *

Ranma popped another ant-acid into his mouth and started to chew. He should have known better than to let Akane cook breakfast for the two of them. At least this time she was suffering a bit too, as she had taken a bite of her rice at the same time as Ranma. Why had Kasumi slept in today of all days? Empty stomachs must be filled though, so as Akane took care of Yuki, Ranma was sent to Ucchan's for some okonomiyaki.

The bell over the door to the restaurant chimed merrily as Ranma entered. He turned to glare at the bells. Nothing this early in the morning should be able to make a merry noise. Ukyo came out from the back room to help her customer. She smiled as she recognised her fiancé. "Hey Ran-chan! What can I get for you?"

"Two pork okonomiyakis to go Ucchan," came the tired reply. Ranma sat at the grill, and proceeded to try to get some sleep while his breakfast cooked.

Ukyo poured the batter. "Only two Ranma? You feeling alright?"

Ranma secretly wished that his "cute fiancée" would just shut up, cook the food, and let him sleep a few minutes. Of course, he knew voicing this opinion would result in no food, and a concussion. "Actually, only one is for me. The other is for Akane."

Ukyo frowned. "Now I know something is wrong. Did Akane try to cook for you again?" she asked as she packed the breakfasts in boxes.

Ranma smirked. "Yeah, but I wasn't feeling that great to begin with. Th' baby kept me up all night."

Ukyo dropped the boxes. Ranma dove over the counter, nearly burning himself on the hot grill, to save the food. He looked up to see that she was in shock. In his exhausted state, he couldn't understand why. So he sat her down in a chair, then took his breakfast and left. 'Konatsu should be down soon,' he thought. 'He'll take care of her.'

* * *

Akane was on lying on the couch asleep. Or at least as asleep as one can be with a squirming baby lying on their chest. Akane groaned and sat up to entertain the girl. She looked out through the open shoji to see if Ranma was coming back soon so she could give him the baby for a while. It was then that the wall surrounding the dojo collapsed.

"Nihao!" came the cheerful voice from amongst the rubble.

Akane groaned. She really didn't want to deal with Shampoo at the moment. What made matters worse was that the loud noise startled Yuki, and she started to cry. Akane groaned again, and tried to quiet her. She glared at Shampoo.

"Shampoo, I was trying to get Yuki settled down so she and I could take a nap. Now you've gone and gotten her riled up again."

Shampoo looked at Akane in shock. "Is your baby?"

Akane sighed and explained for the third time how they had come across Yuki. Shampoo frowned slightly at the end of the tale. "Was hoping it was your baby. Would have meant you give up on Ranma."

Akane scowled. "What if Ranma was the father?"

Shampoo grinned. "Baby no look like Ranma."

Akane grinned back evilly. "Well, maybe he couldn't be the father, but with that red hair, he could have been the mother." Akane laughed as she watched the Amazon's face pale at the implication.

Shampoo shook her head to clear it of the image of a pregnant Ranma. By then, Yuki had calmed down, and was looking at her in interest. Shampoo's heart melted at the sight of Yuki's large brown eyes staring at her. She was even feeling a bit jealous of Akane for being able to take care of the girl. After all, back at her village it was common for girls her age to have already had one or even two children. Maybe if Ranma would wizen up she'd have one of her own soon, but in the meantime...

"Can Shampoo hold baby?" she asked.

Akane looked Shampoo in surprise. "Sure, if you want," she replied. She handed Yuki over.

Yuki wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. This strange new girl had come through the wall, and startled her not five minutes ago, and now her new mommy was handing her over? But Shampoo did something surprising; she held the babe gently, started to rock her, and proceeded to sing a lullaby to her in Chinese. Yuki watched this stranger with wide eyes. She didn't seem like a threat any more, and if Mommy seemed to think it was all right, then she could relax. The combination of the movement and the soft song seemed to have an effect on Yuki, as she let out a big yawn, and promptly fell asleep in the Amazon's arms.

Akane sighed with relief. Now if she could get rid of Shampoo, she might be able to take a nap for a few hours. She started to take Yuki back, but Shampoo pulled away.

"Akane look like she lost a fight. Shampoo put Yuki to bed. You go to sleep. Where crib?"

That comment took Akane by surprise. She looked at Shampoo suspiciously. "Why do you want to put Yuki to bed?"

Shampoo shrugged. "Just something Shampoo want to do. Akane go to sleep. Shampoo take care of Yuki for a while before going back to Nekohanten."

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Akane told Shampoo where the crib was, watched her go up the stairs, then promptly fell asleep on the couch.

* * *

Ranma returned a short while later with the food. He wasn't surprised to find Akane had fallen asleep on the couch, though the fact that Yuki wasn't with her agitated him. He put the food down and gently shook her.

"Akane?" he asked. But the girl wouldn't have it. 'Guess she didn't sleep much that first night either,' he thought. Ranma took a deep breath and tried again. "AKANE!"

She jumped. "Wha? What is it?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and saw that it was Ranma. "Why'd you wake me?" she growled.

"Where's Yuki?"

Akane briefly looked panicked, but then remembered what had happened. "Shampoo showed up, and offered to take care of Yuki for a while so I could get some sleep. Last I saw they went upstairs. Didn't you see the hole in the wall?"

"Well, that wall gets a new hole in it every two weeks. How am I supposed to know when someone puts another one in it?" He sighed. "Anyway, I brought you some okonomiyaki."

Akane noticed the name on the box. "Ucchan's? Did you tell her about Yuki?"

Ranma yawned. "I may have mentioned it. Quite frankly 'kane, I can barely remember what I've done all morning. Let's just eat this, tell Shampoo to go home, and maybe we can convince Yuki to go to sleep for a while so we can too."

They ate in silence, and then trudged up the stairs to relieve the impromptu sitter. The sight they saw when they opened the door surprised them. Shampoo was sitting in a rocking chair holding Yuki. She was humming to herself as the babe slept in her arms. A smile creased her face, and a look of joy danced in her eyes. She looked every part like a loving mother holding her child. She looked up at Ranma and Akane, and blushed a little at the looks she saw on their faces. She stood, and placed Yuki in her crib. She then turned to them. "Yuki sleep now. Should be out for a while. You two sleep now too yes?"

Ranma looked relieved. He quietly thanked Shampoo, and promptly dove into his bed. Akane had the decency to walk Shampoo out of the house. "You really like her, don't you?" she asked.

The Amazon sighed. "Shampoo was wondering what it like to be mother. Got to find out a little. Shampoo changed her and fed her, so Yuki should sleep long time." She turned to leave, but stopped when Akane placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If you want, and can promise to use the gate next time, you can come back to see her whenever you want."

Shampoo smiled, then turned and ran down the street. Akane turned back to go back inside, and sighed. It had taken a lot of courage to invite Shampoo back. The Amazon was already chasing Ranma after all, what if she took too much of a liking to Yuki? But she had seen that look on Shampoo's face, and knew she couldn't deny her. She had felt the same way about Yuki on a number of occasions as well.

* * *

Man, it's been too long. Finally done this chapter. I PROMISE the next will come soon. I have no intention of abandoning this story! I already know what will happen in the last chapter and the epilogue, it's just the stuff in the middle that's giving me a hard time.

Thanks to Koala Kitty for beta reading! Read her stuff! It's good!

By the way, I woud prefer if everyone left an email with their comments (if commenting without logging on). That way I can write you back with my comments without taking up space at the bottom here.


	4. Of Love, Sex, and Violence

AN: Ranma's not mine yadda yadda yadda. Warning! Much pronoun confusion follows!

* * *

Chapter 4 - Of Love, Sex, and Violence.

Ranma awoke from his nap 3 hours later feeling refreshed. He looked over to Akane's futon and saw that she was still dead to the world. She was so out of it that she didn't even thrash about as per her normal sleeping habits. Ranma sat up and watched her sleep for a moment before getting up quietly to check on Yuki. The babe had already woken from her nap and watched Ranma with wide eyes as he approached. Ranma leaned over the crib and smiled. He placed a finger to his lips. "Shhh," he whispered. "Mommy's still sleeping. Daddy will take you out of there." Yuki smiled and gurgled at him, but made no loud noises. Ranma plucked her from her crib, grabbed a fresh diaper and wipes, and carried her downstairs.

He entered he kitchen to see Kasumi preparing lunch for the family. She was smiling and humming a nameless tune when he walked in. Ranma smiled. "Have a good time with Tofu last night Kasumi?" he asked. Kasumi just blushed in reply.

Ranma chuckled to himself as he changed Yuki. He finished the job in record time (you learn how to do this quickly when it seems you get all the "full" diapers), and sat her in her high chair with her teething ring to play with. He was content to just sit and watch the baby occupy herself as he let his thoughts wander. 'I just called Akane Yuki's "Mommy", and myself her "Daddy",' he thought. 'I've been having a bunch of thoughts like that lately. Wonder what it all means...'

He continued to ponder about these thoughts for a little while before he heard a crash and a familiar voice shout "Where the heck am I now?"

Ranma groaned when he heard Yuki start to cry. Honestly, why can't these people use the door? He picked her up and turned to glare at Ryoga. "You're at the Tendo dojo again P-chan," he snarled. "And you upset Yuki."

Ryoga had the decency to look ashamed, but that quickly turned to confusion. "Yuki? Who's Yuki?"

"Who do you think bacon breath? This girl in my arms is Yuki."

Ryoga looked at the babe as if seeing her for the first time. By then, Yuki's wails had decreased in volume, and she seemed to be more curious about who the newcomer was than afraid of him. She still clutched tightly to Ranma's shirt though. Ryoga leaned in closer and smiled at her. "Well hey there little girl," he cooed. He tried to tickle her feet, but Yuki pulled away and hid her face in Ranma's shoulder. This stranger was scarier than the girl with the purple hair. He had scary teeth.

Ryoga took a closer look at the child. "You know Ranma, she kinda looks like you," he commented.

"Really?" Ranma was perplexed. How could someone else's baby look like him?

Ryoga continued to stare at the girl, and then the severity of what he just said clicked. He growled. "Yeah, she looks like she could be your daughter!"

Ranma quickly caught onto what Ryoga was saying, and jumped back before the lost-boy could attack. "Easy Ryoga! Do you want to scare her again?"

Ryoga snarled. "Ranma you coward! Hiding behind a baby like that. So tell me, who is the mother? If it's Akane, I'll make you sorry you were ever born!"

Ranma looked at Ryoga through half-lidded eyes. "Yeah? And what would you do if it wasn't Akane's?"

"Then I'd kill you for being unfaithful to her!"

"I can never win with you can I Ryoga?" asked Ranma.

"Enough talk! Put down the baby so we can fight!" Ryoga started to advance. Ranma backed up, but managed to lead Ryoga towards the sink.

"Listen Ryoga, Akane and I found Yuki in a dumpster downtown! She's not related to either of us! we're just taking care of her until the orphanage can take her!" his hand drew back to the faucet, and he turned the cold water on.

"No more lies! We fight now!" shouted Ryoga. He started to charge, but was stopped in his tracks by a spray of cold water from the vegetable sprayer. An angry black piglet struggled to free himself from his clothes. Ranma sighed at the momentary reprise and put Yuki back into her high chair before turning back to help Ryoga. It was then that he noticed Kasumi was still in the room.

"Oh my!" came her usual response. "To think that all this time Ryoga was cursed as well."

Ranma grimaced. He'd forgotten Kasumi was there, and that she didn't know Ryoga was cursed. Ryoga had never changed in front of her after all. Now if only Akane would get a clue...

'Speak of the Devil,' thought Ranma as Akane staggered into the kitchen. She blearily eyed Ryoga for a second before her brain registered what he was.

"Oh, P-chan's here," she said. She picked him up and carried him over to the table. Ryoga promptly tried to snuggle up with her, but Akane was still too out of it to register his affections. She sat down, and turned to Yuki. She smiled. "Hey honey, you sleep well?" she cooed. Yuki smiled at her mommy and continued to chew on her teething ring.

Ryoga "buki-ed" at Akane. He looked up at her with big curious eyes, and then looked over at Yuki. Akane looked puzzled for a second, then figured the pig was asking about the baby. "That's right, you haven't met Yuki yet have you P-Chan?" Akane placed the pig on the table near Yuki. "This is Yuki, P-Chan. She's going to be staying with us for a while." Ryoga "buki-ed" in what he thought was a friendly manner at the child, but Yuki drew away and turned her head. "That's strange," said Akane. "Yuki is usually ok with strangers. Why is she afraid of P-chan?"

"Maybe it's because Ranma was holding her when Ryoga came in earlier," said Kasumi. "He seemed to be angry about something. Maybe he scared her."

"Ryoga? What does he have to do with anything?" asked Akane.

Ranma cringed. 'Oh, this is not going to be good...' he thought.

"Well, Ryoga turns into that pig when he gets wet like Ranma. He transformed right in front of Yuki. Babies are very observant you know. Didn't you know about his curse?"

Akane looked at her sister with wide eyes. She then silently stood, picked up the hapless pig, and left the kitchen for the furo. A few minutes later there was a scream, some muffled talking, some muffled yelling, and a crash as Akane sent Ryoga flying through the ceiling. Ranma winced at the sounds and turned to Yuki. "Take it from me kid," he said to her. "NEVER get Mommy mad."

* * *

Two hours later, Ranma and Yuki were out for a walk in the park. Akane was still mad as hell over the entire P-chan thing, and decided to take it out on anything that moved, and a few things that didn't. She would yell at people, break things, and was currently making dust out of cinder blocks in the dojo. Ranma had never seen her so mad. He had managed to escape her wrath just barely by keeping close to the baby whenever he had to be near the vengeful girl, but had felt that it would be a good idea to get away from Akane for a while before she figured out Ranma knew about Ryoga's affliction, and really got mad.

So we find our hero, or since he was in female form at the moment, our heroine, walking through the park with Yuki in an old stroller. Ranma had started out the journey in male form, but that old bat down the road with the water bucket still managed to get him. Sometimes he wondered if she splashed him on purpose. Yuki sat up in her stroller taking in the scenery for most of the trip, but she soon started to fuss. Ranma leaned over to check her diaper (thankfully clean), and then pulled over at a bench to feed her.

It was a warm day, and there were many people at the park enjoying it. Ranma started to regret staying a girl, because some of the other women in the park would stop and ask questions about Yuki. Some of the questions she was asked about Yuki were easy, but then they became more frank. "Do you breast-feed her?" "What was the birth like?" "What was the sex like?" were some of the more embarrassing questions. Ranma knew she was beet red, but managed to get out that Yuki wasn't hers. After that, most people would just smile, congratulate Ranma on the adoption, and leave her alone (though, some seemed to be more embarrassed than Ranma about the questions they asked after that). Had Ranma been a guy at the time, he wasn't sure what kind of questions he would get.

Yuki finished her bottle, and Ranma started to burp her. It was then that he heard the most blood-curdling sound in all of existence.

"PIG-TAILED GIRL! AT LAST I HAVE FOUND YOU!"

Ranma groaned out loud as Kuno approached. The samurai wannabe had been quiet for the last few weeks, but it seemed as if he was just building up for something big. Currently he was dressed in his full samurai outfit, armour and all, with two katana sticking out of his belt. The fact that they were metal swords rather than his usual wooden bokken didn't escape Ranma's notice. She protectively held Yuki a little closer

Kuno bounded up to the bench at a speed that impressed Ranma considering the heavy armour he was wearing. Ranma glared at him. "What do you want Kuno?" she asked.

"I have come to inform you that my education at Tokyo University has been progressing smoothly," he answered. Ranma highly suspected that the only reason Kuno made it into such a prestigious school was because his family gave them a large donation, but said nothing of it. "I shall be entering my second semester come the end of the summer break, and I hope you would join me there."

Ranma groaned. Ever since Kuno had graduated from Furinkan, he had been on both hers and Akane's cases about getting married to them. Of course, he wanted to marry both girls at the same time. "Kuno, I told you last time you asked. I WILL NOT MARRY YOU!" Ranma punctuated her rejection with a brutal punch to the back of Kuno's head, but he recovered quickly.

"Surely you are just under that foul...Saotome's... spell..." Kuno trailed off in the middle of his latest tirade. He stared blankly at Yuki, having just noticed Ranma had been holding her. "Pray, who is that child you are holding?" he asked.

"Oh her? This is Yuki," Ranma replied. She then got a worried look on her face. "You're not going to want to marry her now, are you?

Instead of answering, Kuno just got an enraged look on his face. Ranma backed up a bit and held out one hand to defend Yuki from whatever crazy thing Kuno would try next. "So," he said. "Saotome has finally succeeded in forcing you to bear his offspring. I SHALL NOT ALLOW THIS TRAVESTY TO CONTINUE FURTHER!" He drew one of his swords, and turned to run towards the Tendo dojo, where his rival was surely waiting. He hesitated before running off. "Fear not Pig-tailed Girl!" he said. "I shall smite the foul cur in your honour for stealing your purity. And after we are wed, I shall love Yuki as if she were my own! Of course, we'll have to have another child so that my heir is not a bastard but..." He was cut off by a rather large boulder being dropped on his head courtesy of Ranma.

"Honestly, why does everyone think Yuki is my baby?" she asked to nobody in particular.

* * *

Ranma and Yuki returned to the dojo to find Akane collapsed in on the floor next to a pile of broken bricks 5 feet tall. There were also broken practice dummies strewn about, and many new holes in the walls. The redhead walked over and stood over her, making sure to keep Yuki on her hip, and in Akane's sight in case she decided she needed to hit something else. Akane just glared up at Ranma for a moment before she asked "Did you know about Ryoga's curse?"

"Yep. In fact it's my fault he is cursed. I accidentally knocked him into the spring."

Akane sighed. "You realize that if I could move my arms, I'd take Yuki away from you and knock you into next week, right?"

"I know. That's why I went for a walk."

Akane sat up. "Why didn't you tell me about him?"

It was Ranma's turn to sigh. He took a seat next to his fiancée. "I swore on my honour not to reveal his weakness to anyone. Of course that was before you made him a pet and he used my promise against me. After that, I tried to give you hints, called him "P-chan while he was in human form and the like, but you never caught on."

Akane groaned as she realised that Ranma was telling the truth, and all the pieces fell into place. "Fine, but if it ever happens again, you'd better tell me or you'll become the first living satellite to orbit the Earth."

Ranma was perplexed. "You mean you forgive me? Just like that? No mallet?"

"Yeah you dummy. I forgive you. I understand why you felt you had to do it, so I can't stay mad at you about it." Akane turned and smiled at the shorter girl. "Besides, Yuki seems to like it more when we don't fight."

"You noticed too huh?" Ranma looked at the little girl in her arms. "It's almost as if she's trying to hook us up as much as our fathers." They both laughed nervously at that comment, then turned their heads away in embarrassment. It was then that Ranma remembered some of her thoughts from earlier in the morning. "Say..." she started.

"Ranma! Akane! Lunch is ready!" called Kasumi from the house. Ranma was up and out of the dojo in a shot before Akane had the chance to ask her what was on her mind.

'Oh well,' thought Akane. 'I'll ask him about it after lunch.'

* * *

AN: Sally Field impersonation: You like me! You really like me!

I got flooded with reviews within the first day after I last updated this story, all of them positive. I must say I was a bit overwhelmed. I meant to get this chapter out a long time ago, but there were a few things that delayed it. Some was laziness, I admit, but I also had to attend the funeral of my grandmother who died recently. So even though she never knew what the hell Ranma was, this is dedicated to her.

I'M NOT ABANDONNING THIS STORY. That seemed to be the main concern of most of the reviewers, so let me get this out now. I know how I want the story to end, and practically have the epilogue written out in my head. I'm just not sure how I want to get it there. So my updates will be slow, but they will come!

Thanks to Koala Kitty for pre-reading my story. According to the agreement we have she should be posting an update soon, so go read her stuff!


	5. Broken Hearts, and Bath Times

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or any of his friends/enemies. Nope, not me! I don't even own Yuki for that matter, so if… What? Paternity tests? She _is_ mine? DAMN YOU MAURY POVICH!

* * *

Chapter 5: Broken Hearts, and Bath Times.

Lunch was excellent as usual, and Ranma told Kasumi as much. He sat back from the table a bit and let out a loud belch. Akane looked over at him in disgust but refrained from hitting her fiancé, since he was holding Yuki in his lap. She settled for a "That was gross, Ranma," instead.

"What was?" he asked innocently.

"Belching like BURP that," she finished sheepishly.

Ranma cracked up laughing. Nabiki and even Kasumi joined in. Akane blushed in embarrassment, but couldn't help laughing at the situation.

Ranma settled down a little and just watched everyone. The three girls were still giggling, well Nabiki was rolling on the floor clutching her sides, but Kasumi and Akane were still upright. They were all trying to calm down, but every time they did, one of them would start giggling again, and that would set the other two off. They started laughing harder when Kasumi let out a small burp herself, even though she tried to demurely hide it behind her hand.

The fathers had already left the table for a game of shogi as per their usual habits. It seemed as though this time they were playing a variant that required them to take a drink of sake after losing a piece. Needless to say, both were well on their way to getting uproariously drunk.

Ranma then looked down at the red head in his lap. Yuki was giggling along with the older girls since it seemed to be the thing to do at the moment. He sighed contentedly, reviling in the peacefulness of the moment. _This_ was his family, even if it wasn't official yet. Even the young girl in his lap seemed to be a part of it. Every now and then there were times that he felt this way about the people around him, but for some reason, it just felt more complete now.

Akane stopped laughing long enough to look at Ranma. She noticed the smile on his face, and smiled a bit herself. "Yen for your thoughts?" she asked.

"Huh?" came Ranma's intelligent response.

Akane rolled her eyes. "You had a goofy smile on your face, Ranma. What's up?"

Ranma blushed and looked away. "Err… nothing Akane… just… nothing."

By that time, Kasumi had calmed herself down enough to begin clearing the table. Nabiki offered to help and started bringing dishes into the kitchen to be cleaned, giving Ranma and Akane a rare moment alone. Akane pounced on it. "You were going to say something before lunch, Ranma?"

Ranma snapped out of his stupor. "Huh? Oh right. Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately…" he started. He hesitated a bit, expecting Akane to make a crack about him thinking, but she just motioned for him to continue. "Anyway…"

Whatever he was going to say next was lost as he was interrupted by a scream of fury. Both martial artists instinctively leapt to their feet and assumed defensive positions (quite the feat for Ranma who was still holding Yuki). They turned to see Ukyo standing in the doorway, her face bunched up as she struggled not to cry. Ranma looked down and noticed that her left hand was slack from shock, a box of okonomiyaki sat cooling on the floor where she had dropped it. Her right hand, however, clenched tightly to her battle spatula. Ranma grimaced at the sight and held Yuki closer to himself, though he wasn't sure if it was to keep her safe, or to keep him safe. "Ucchan…" he started.

"DON'T RANMA!" shouted the distraught girl. "DON'T YOU _DARE_ CALL ME THAT NAME ANYMORE!"

Akane winced. She had never seen Ukyo so angry. For that matter, she had never seen _anyone_ that angry before. She tried to smile in an effort to calm the vengeful girl. "Ukyo, calm down please? Tell us what's wrong."

Akane decided that speaking up was a Bad Thing as Ukyo director her ire towards her. Ukyo was about to say something that was surely going to leave Akane feeling only two inches tall and gladly give Ranma up to her, but Yuki interrupted when she started to cry in Ranma's arms.

Ranma handed off the distraught child to Akane, if for no other reason than Ukyo wouldn't hit someone holding a baby. He shot Akane a meaningful look before turning to face Ukyo once more. Akane took the hint and took Yuki upstairs, though it was clear by the look on her face that she didn't like not being included in the discussion that was to follow.

Ukyo was still pissed. She was about to yell and scream and hit her fiancé upside the head with her spatula but was interrupted once again. "Ukyo, before you say anything, Yuki is not my child or Akane's. She was abandoned downtown in a dumpster and me and Akane rescued her. I know I didn't say so before when I mentioned her this morning, and for that I'm sorry, but that's hardly an excuse to come barging in here yelling and screaming like that."

Ukyo geared herself up to scream at him once again, but by this time had expected to be interrupted, so she hesitated when Ranma didn't say anything. Deflating somewhat when what Ranma had said sunk in a little, she instead took a deep breath before continuing. "OK Ranma. I believe you. I was just to worried that Akane had stolen you from me by trapping you with a pregnancy."

Ranma bristled at Ukyo's words, but managed to stay relatively calm. He hated what he was going to say next, but he knew it was a long time coming. He sighed. "Ukyo, I was never yours for Akane to steal from you to begin with. I'm sorry, but I just don't feel that way about you."

Ukyo was stunned to silence. Had she heard correctly? Had Ranma really rejected her? It couldn't be possible! But it was true. She could see the resolution in his face, despite the fact that he could no longer look at her. Her anger vanished, and in it's place grew cold hard sorrow. She sniffed. "Why Ranma? I thought I was the cute fiancée…"

Ranma sighed again. "Ukyo, ever since that failed wedding where you bombed the heck out of everyone things have been tense between us. You betrayed me that day. Maybe I wasn't ready to be married, but that sure wasn't the way to keep it from happening. Besides, I've only ever thought of you as a friend. Maybe a sister."

Tears streamed down Ukyo's face as she took in his harsh words. He was right. Ever since that episode back when they were 16 where she teamed up with Shampoo to stop the wedding both Akane and Ranma had been less friendly with her. She just didn't want to believe that the two of them actually _wanted_ to be married. "So this is it then," she sobbed. "You choose Akane."

Ranma winced and turned away. "Uhhh… I dunno… maybe… but…"

"Dammit Ranma! It's a simple yes or no!"

"Then yes," he said softly.

Ukyo turned her face downwards. "I thought so." She turned to go. "Damn you for stringing me out for so long Ranma. Don't you dare show your face around my restaurant again." And with that, Ukyo beat a hasty retreat out of the house.

Ranma wanted to follow her. He hated it when a girl cried. Especially when it was because of him. He was about to chase after her when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Kasumi keeping him from going, Nabiki standing behind her. "Ranma, the last thing Ukyo-chan needs right now is for you to go after her," the older girl said. "Why don't you see if Akane needs your help with Yuki?"

Ranma stared at the girls. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," replied Nabiki. "Though our fathers are too far gone to remember if they heard it. And they won't find out either for 1000 Yen." She smirked and held out her hand to Ranma.

Kasumi looked disapprovingly at Nabiki as Ranma dug in his pocket and pulled out some coins and handed them to her. "You know Nabiki, sometimes I wonder why you're going to business school in the first place," he said. "You already seem to know the ropes."

Nabiki smirked in reply as he walked past her and climbed the stairs. She turned to Kasumi and noticed her sister's look. "What? I gave him a discount. I _was_ going to charge him 5000."

"Even so, you shouldn't have charged him anything. He's going to be family soon after all."

"Why do you think I gave him the discount? Besides, he so skittish around Akane that they'll still be fiancés and fighting well into their eighties."

Kasumi's expression softened. "I'm not so sure about that imouto-chan. I think finding that child could be the force that brings them together."

Nabiki looked up the stairs at the door Ranma disappeared into. "You know oneesan, I wouldn't bet against you on that one."

* * *

Ranma walked through the door of his room only to hit a wall of noise. Yuki was still screaming, and Akane was trying to calm her by singing and dancing with Yuki in her arms. From the sound of it though, it wasn't working very well. Akane almost seemed on the verge of tears herself as she tried to calm the child down. "What's wrong with her?" Ranma yelled over the screaming child.

"I called Tofu a while ago when she wouldn't stop crying," Akane said. "He said he thinks it's colic from the way she's sometimes inconsolable and the fact that she doesn't sleep through the night yet. It's because her nervous system isn't fully developed yet and it hurts her."

"Well what can we do about it?" Ranma asked.

"I don't know, OK?" It was clear to Ranma that Akane was starting to panic. "Tofu wasn't sure what would work either, just that it would pass eventually and that we should try to make her as comfortable as possible." She suddenly brightened as an idea struck her. "Ranma! Go put a bathing suit on and meet me in the furo!" She then pushed past him and ran into her room to get her own suit on.

Ranma was perplexed. A bathing suit in the furo? What for?

* * *

Akane entered the furo wearing her suit and carrying a nude, and still crying, Yuki. She paused when she saw what was waiting for her, and cracked up laughing. Ranma was standing there waiting for her in one of her father's full-body bathing suits, looking rather ridiculous as her father always did. Especially since it didn't quite fit him properly and hung loose in places. Ranma just crossed his arms and scowled at her until she calmed down enough to stop laughing. "And what's so funny?" he asked.

"Why are you wearing one of Daddy's ridiculous suits?" she asked, mirth dancing in her eyes.

"Humph. Because I don't have a suit of my own for my guy form. Only for my girl form. And since you told me to meet you in here, I assumed that we would be getting into a hot bath."

Akane couldn't help herself. She cracked up laughing at the image of Ranma wearing one of his suits in his girl form, and then changing to guy form. "Aww, but wouldn't it be ok if you were wearing that one that said "BOY" on the front? After all, it would be true for once."

Ranma just shook his head and went over to take Yuki, who had calmed somewhat but seemed to be ready to gear up again. He then slid into the hot bath and held her in the water, making sure to keep her head above the water. Surprisingly, it seemed to have a soothing effect on the child, and she quickly calmed down. Ranma looked up at his fiancée in surprise. "How did you know this would work?" he asked.

Akane slid in next to him. "Well, sometimes you see mothers bring their babies into the bath with them over at the public baths. It always seems to have a calming effect on them. The mothers will say that they come to the public bath specifically so they can get some peace for a while."

Ranma looked at Akane in awe as she took Yuki from him and started to hum to the baby. 'Now's as good a time as any,' he thought. "Say, Akane…" he started.

"Mmm?" Akane asked without looking up from her charge.

"Umm… you know… I've been thinking… I think, maybe, that we could take care of Yuki ourselves rather than give her up to the orphanage if they ever decide they can take her."

Akane looked at him in surprise. "What? Where did that come from Ranma? We've only had her for two days and you want to keep her already?"

"Ha! You're one to talk." Akane blushed at that comment, but didn't say anything. "I know we're still young, and that we have to go back to school in a week, but Kasumi could take care of her during the day, and… well… I've already kinda been thinking that we're her parents…" If Akane's eyes had opened any wider in surprise at that last comment, they would have fallen out of her head. "I'm serious Akane," he continued. "I've been calling you her mommy, and me her daddy when I talk to her, and have even thought of ourselves as her parents. Besides, everyone else seems to think she's ours, so why not?"

Akane looked down at the babe lying in her arms. It was true that she cared for her. Even loved her. She'd even thought about what her own children would be like, and tried to compare them to Yuki. She then realized that in all those fantasies, Ranma was the father of her children. He was just so caring and gentle with Yuki, and it seemed like he would make a good father. She had once thought that she wasn't ready to take on the responsibility, but after what Ranma had said, she knew she wanted to try. She looked up at Ranma.

"Besides," he continued, turning his face from her to hide his blush. "I think you make a good mother."

Akane teared up at that comment. "Thank you Ranma. I think you make a good father." She giggled. "And a good mother too."

Ranma bristled at that last comment, but didn't strike back. "So we're gonna keep her then?"

Akane smiled at him. "Yes Ranma. We'll keep her." With that, she leaned over, and placed her head on his shoulder. Ranma tensed slightly at the contact, but eventually calmed down, and placed a hesitant arm around Akane's shoulder. The young family sat in the bath contentedly for an hour before heading off to bed.

* * *

OK, then, lets see… when was the last time I updated this story… OCTOBER? No wonder you people thought I'd abandoned this story. I profusely apologize to my readers for taking so damned long to get this out. I'd had half of it written since January, but got stuck for a long time.

I've started up a live journal. You can find a link to it through my profile page (it's the website link). I haven't kept it very much up to date (mostly because nobody read it), but I'll try to keep you guys up to date on my stories over there.

I've also started _another_ story which I plan to post on I've decided to do something different though, and hold off on posting this new story until it is finished, thus keeping you from wondering if I'm ever going to finish the story. This new story is significantly darker than my others, and is centred around the rape of one of the characters (telling who would spoil the surprise, but suffice to say it isn't Ranma). I hope to get it out before the end of the summer.

Yuki isn't over yet! I still have to take care of a few things before the conclusion! And I think I _finally _know what I want to do before the epilogue! I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as possible!


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